By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press
CJ Sowell, known to many as “Cove Santa”, continues to be loved and remembered by many.
Mae Stevens Early Learning Academy held a dedication in his honor at the school Monday at 2 p.m. Members of the school’s staff worked together to raise funds for a bench in CJ Sowell’s honor with a plaque which reads “In Loving Memory of CJ Sowell Our Santa our friend. With a twinkle in his eye and a heart full of joy, he brought magic, laughter, and smiles to every child who passed through our doors. His spirit lives on every smile”.
Above the bench is a small shelf with a few items, mostly Christmas-themed, that Sowell would have liked. Several have already left sticky notes with short messages to Sowell on the wall space above the bench.
“CJ was one of our paraprofessionals for 10 years,” said Mae Stevens Early Learning Academy Principal Heather Peacock. “We just wanted a permanent memory for him here…We all just adored him. He brought a lot of joy to us. He was one of the most welcoming people I knew.”
Sowell, a member of the CCHS class of 1982, passed away in January 2024 after a 14-month battle with stage 4 kidney cancer.
Peacock said that Sowell always had dad jokes, and he always had compliments. He was great at making people feel good, even when he was going through his own struggles. Sowell was known for his love of dad jokes, the Dallas Cowboys, Christmas, and for his hugs and laughter.
“His love of Christmas was contagious,” said Peacock. “He wanted to keep the joy going no matter what the calendar said.”
At the event, some of the young students enthusiastically sang Christmas songs in honor of Sowell’s love for Christmas.
“He meant so much to everyone here…Everyone enjoyed being around him,” said Jaclyne Mobley who helped organize and spearhead the school’s efforts towards making the bench a possibility. “I’m sad, but grateful that I was able to be a part of his life.”
Sharon Miles worked as a special education paraprofessional and has worked for Mae Stevens Early Learning Academy for 11 years, starting just a few months before Sowell did.
Miles called Sowell her “brother from another mother” and said that he was like family to her. She said that she really likes having the bench as a permanent feature in the school.
“I’ve sat on that bench,” said Miles. “It feels like I’m sitting next to him.”
Present for the bench dedication were Sowell’s wife, Lynette; his daughter, Hannah McWhorter; and his youngest granddaughter, Helena.
“it makes us so happy to know that C.J.’s legacy of kindness lives on,” said Sowell. “We miss him very, very much, but like C.J. would say, ‘It makes our hearts happy’ to know he is still loved and remembered. I hope that anyone who sits there will feel the love that he left behind for his Mae Stevens family and the children.”
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